Research says that husbands do not do their fair share of work around the house. A study from an American university says that men seldom do the same share of housework. Researchers interviewed 182 working couples who became first-time parents. Both husbands and wives worked almost the same number of hours in full-time jobs. However, men did five hours a week less housework than women after their baby was born.
It is a different story for mothers. Becoming a parent added 21 hours a week to a mother’s work. Most of this was looking after her baby. New fathers did not do more woke because they did not realize the mother was doing so much more. Another reason is that after a baby is born, fathers follow the “traditional” roles. That is, the mother looks after the baby and the father works outside. This happens even when the mother is working the same number of hours in her job.
1.It is found that ______ do less housework.
A. wives B. husbands C. parents D. babies
2.The underlined sentence “It is a different story for mothers.” Probably means ______.
A. mothers come from different families
B. mothers like reading different stories
C. mothers work more hours than fathers
D. different mothers have different children
3.What is the “traditional” role of a father?
A. Working outside B. Looking after the baby
C. Doing housework D. Doing part-time jobs
4.Which part of a newspaper can this passage be taken from?
A. Sports B. Medicine
C. News D. Society
Do you sleep well? If your answer is no, the following might help you.
Set a certain bedtime and rising time A certain bedtime and rising time can help you build up your body clocks. Set a bedtime which is good and natural for you. Don’t change your bedtime and rising time on weekends. |
Avoid exciting activities just before sleeping Exciting activities get your thoughts running. At the same time, if you make tomorrow’s plan or read an exciting story before turning off the light, it doesn’t give you enough time to relax before you try to sleep. |
Keep the bedroom for sleeping only It’s a bad habit for you to use your bedroom as a place to eat, watch TV, read, talk on the phone, or discuss important matters with your family members. Break that habit to get better sleep. |
Don’t go to bed too early Your body usually lets you sleep only the number of hours it needs. You should decide how many hours you must sleep in order not to experience daytime sleepiness. |
Take a warm shower before your bedtime A twenty-minute warm shower at a temperature of about 45 –50 not only is a great relax at day’s end, but also raises your body temperature by several degrees. The coming drop in temperature of your body will naturally make you feel sleepy. |
1.If you want to build up your body clocks, you should ______.
A. set a certain bedtime and rising time
B. go to bed neither too early nor too late
C. keep the bedroom for sleeping only
D. take a warm shower before sleeping
2.Why should you avoid exciting activities just before sleeping?
A. Because they will get your thoughts running
B. Because you have to make tomorrow’s paln
C. Because you should read an exciting story
D. Because you will have to turn off the light.
3.Your bedroom should be kept for ______ only.
A. talking B. eating C. reading D. sleeping
4.According to the passage, ______ will make you feel sleepy.
A. taking a cold shower B. your body temperature dropping
C. your daily experience D. raising your body temperature
Be honest. That’s all you have to do on Honesty Day. It would be great if we were all honest every day of the year. It’s good that there is a day to encourage honesty. M. Hirsh Goldberg started Honesty Day. He chose the last day of April because the first day is April Fool’s Day, which celebrate lies. On Honesty Day, anyone may ask you any question and you should give a true and honest answer. That means that you have knowledge of Honesty Day.
M. Hirsh Goldberg wrote a book on telling lies. He said in his book that almost all person lie about 200 times a day. In our daily life, a typical（典型的）life for a man is “I did not drink that much” and for a woman is “Nothing is wrong, I’m fine.” It is found that nurses are the most honest people, while sales people and politicians（政客）are the biggest liars.
Every Honesty Day, M. Hirsh Goldberg hands out prizes to honest people.
1. M. Hirsh Goldberg started Honesty Day to ______.
A. celebrate lies B. encourage honesty
C. ask questions D. hand out prizes
2.Which of the following is Honesty Day?
A. April 1st B. April 10th C. April 20th D. April 30th
3. According to the passage, ______ are the most honest people.
A. nurses B. sales people
C. politicians D. all men
4.The underlined word “liars” probably means “______”.
A. 获利者 B. 说谎者 C. 影响着 D. 领导者
Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to make money for my schooling.
One day, my mother was sewing a quilt（缝被子）. I silently sat beside her.
“Mum, is there love between you and Dad?” I asked in a very low voice.
With surprise in her eyes, she stopped her work for a while. The she said, “Susan, look at this thread（线）. It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there. It makes the quilt strong. If life is a quilt, love should be a thread. Love is inside.”
I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month.
After they were back, may mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road every day. They were so kind to each other and it seemed they were the happiest couple.
After two months my father still couldn’t walk by himself.
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.
“Susan, don’t worry about me.” he said. “I just like walking with your mum. I like this kind of life.” Reading his eyes, I knew he loves my mother deeply.
Now I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.
1.Why are Susan’s parents busy trying to make money?
A. To send Susan to school
B. To get to see the doctor
C. To buy a strong quilt
D. To show their love
2.Susan’ father stayed in hospital for ______.
A. one day B. one month C. two months D. three months
3.Susan came to understand her mother ______.
A. while her mother was sewing a quilt
B. before her father was in hospital
C. when she was sitting beside her mother
D. after her father was seriously sick
4.What can we know from the passage?
A. Susan’s father is very lazy
B. Susan’s mother is a nurse
C. Susan’s parents love each other
D. Susan doesn’t like her father
5.Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
A. How to make a Quilt Strong
B. Love is just a Tread
C. Walking on the Country Road
D. A Seriously Sick Father
A: It is such a lovely day. I love sunshine.
B: 1. .
A: I hope it stays like this.
B: 2. .
A: Is the weather usually like this here?
B: A bit hotter than today.
A: 3. .
B: It’s pretty cold and it often snows in winter. 4. .
A: A lot like the weather here, not too hot or cold.
B: I heard it rains a lot. 5. .
A: Mmm, yes. It rains but not any more than other places.
A. I hope so, too.
B. What’s the weather like in Winter?
C. Is that true?
D. I don’t think so.
E. Thank you for your kindness.
F. Yes, it’s really a nice and bright day.
G. What about your hometown?
The plane took off. A passenger needed a cup of water to take his medicine. An air hostess（空姐）told him that she would bring him the soon. But the air hostess was busy that she forgot to bring him the water. , the passenger couldn’t take his medicine on time. About half an hour later, she hurried over to him with a cup of water, but he it.
In the following hours, each time she the passenger, she would ask him with a smile whether he needed help or not. But the passenger paid notice to her.
When it was time to get off the , the passenger asked her to hand him the passengers’ booklet（留言簿）, she was very . She thought that he would bad words in it, but with a smile she handed it to him.
Off the plane, she opened the booklet and then . The passenger put it, “In the past few hours, you have asked me whether I needed help or not for twelve times in all. How can I refuse your twelve faithful（真诚的）smiles?”
1.A. medicine B. water C. cup D. coffee
2.A. very B. too C. quite D. so
3.A. With her help B. As a result C. On the one hand D. To tell the truth
4.A. drank B. accepted C. refused D. received
5.A. looked at B. listened to C. talked about D. passed by
6.A. usually B. never C. sometimes D. often
7.A. plane B. train C. ship D. bus
8.A. interested B. happy C. excited D. sad
9.A. break down B. get down C. write down D. go down
10.A. smiled B. cried C. wondered D. worried
